timeless
by mellieforyellie
Summary: Their stories may not last for long, but they will forever be retold and relived; they are timeless. — discontinued.
1. Wine Red

**(A/N: Yup, yup, yup, a one-shot collection! Shocking, a little? I had originally meant to start off with NaruHina — my favorite couple — but I had the best inspiration for this, so I started off with this. The next chapter might be a SakuLee too, unless I convey my other idea in this chapter as well.**

**Disclaimer:**_**I don't own anything except the twisted thoughts that made this chapter up…**_**)**

_Who shot that arrow in your throat?_

_Who missed that crimson apple?_

_And there's discord in the garden tonight._

_The seas wine red, _

_This is the death of beauty._

_The doves have died, _

_The lovers have lied._

_Wine Red_ by _The Hush Sound_

"No, no," Lee chanted quietly as he sat in the waiting room, his hands in his hands. "I can not lose the last person precious to me. No."

And now, more than ever, had Sakura been so precious to him. She had been ever so kind to him in all the years they had known each other, and he couldn't find it possible to stop loving her. Not that he would even _want_ to in the first place — she was just incredible, and he never wanted to let her go.

But at the moment, the odds were turning toward that he would _have_ to let go. If things got any worse, he would be _forced_ to let go. Oh, and how he dreaded to have to let her slip through his fingers. Since she was the Hokage's apprentice, everyone was working hard to help her, even Tsunade herself. But there still was a low chance of her surviving. He moaned and cursed the man that she had used to love.

--

--

_Lee had it all planned out. He had covered their apartment in cherry blossom petals, and lit up aromatic candles and multiple incense sticks, illuminating the place with a soft glow and wonderful smells. She was supposed to be coming home from her mission any moment, and he wanted to comfort her as much as possible._

_She had nonstop mission and hospital shifts that week, and he wanted to pamper her for a night and let her relive all her tension and stress. He had tested the water in their bathtub a few minutes ago, and it was a perfect, warm temperature that would put her completely at ease. Lee also planned to give her a massage and a luxurious homemade dinner that comprised of quite expensive sushi and desserts. _

_He had waited for a while, but it soon became late, and he suspected that the bath water was becoming cold. As he began to question why in his mind, there was a knock on the door. Lee jumped up, thinking it was Sakura and she had forgotten her key in, and answered the door. He was disappointed to find an ANBU waiting at the door._

_"Hello, ANBU-san," Lee greeted in slight confusion, bowing respectively to him nonetheless. "Would you by any chance know if Haruno Sakura returned from her mission yet?" The ANBU probably didn't know — why would ANBU bother themselves with knowing that information, anyway? — but Lee could help but ask. _

_"That is why I am here," the ANBU replied in a monotone voice. "Haruno Sakura has returned from her mission."_

_"Oh, thank you for informing me, ANBU-san," Lee grinned, but then asked, "but why is that so important that an ANBU would be sent?"_

_"Haruno Sakura returned to the village in critical condition and is being operated on by Hokaga-sama at this time. There is a forty-three percent chance that she will survive."_

_And Lee felt as if the wonderful bubble he had built around himself and his friends was collapsing in, once again._

--

--

Lee's eyes and nose were red and puffy from crying — really more sobbing than crying, but no one really thought much of it — and he was falling apart. It had taken him so long to build himself back up again, so long to break back the wall he had built around himself.

Sakura was the one who had broke the wall — all it took was a gentle touch of her smooth fingertips against his cheek, and a melody she hummed for him while he cried on her shoulder for days. And that was how their relationship started — on trust.

And now the thing that had made him feel again might just be disappearing.

--

--

_Almost all of the shinobi residents of Konoha stood in front of the memorial, some of them tearing or crying. Mostly, it was just Team Gai and the sensei's that were truly mourning. They had known Gai the closest, and his death hit them the hardest. _

_TenTen was crying into Neji's shoulder and he comforted her, holding her as she whimpered with sorrow. But Lee was all-out sobbing true, depressed tears for his sensei. Gai was his sensei — he was his father in all terms. He had practically raised Lee; but now Gai was gone, and there was no one Lee could now turn to for advice, to train as much as he did with. Lee had lost a part of his soul, and there was no way he could ever recover from that._

_For a long while after the memorial service (his body wasn't recovered), Lee had stayed inside his home for many days. He didn't see anyone, do anything. He didn't train, he didn't eat, he didn't bathe. He barely slept, and even when he did, it was nightmares that played out all the different ways Lee's beloved sensei had been killed._

_Needless to say, Lee did not sleep if he could help it._

_Lee's comrades soon became worried, as any faithful teammate or friend would. Many knocked on Lee's door and yelled inside, asking if he was alright, but he never answered them. He just stayed huddled in his room on his bed, crying and mourning, and they soon gave up and left._

_But then Sakura had come knocking on his door. Lee only slightly inclined his head toward his front door, but did not cease in his crying or get out of the loose fetal position he lay in. Sakura, however, did not give up. She knocked down his door with one chakra enhanced kick, and stalked her way over to Lee's room._

_She found Lee as he had been ever since the funeral, and she smiled at him sadly, walking over to him and sitting beside him._

_"Oh, Lee," she said to him softly. "Tell me all your sorrows, Lee. Cry on my shoulder. I'll listen to you forever. I swear to you."_

_And Lee had collapsed onto her and spilled all his secrets, all the torment he had endured throughout his life. And they had fallen asleep together that night, their hands intertwined on his pillow._

--

--

Lee had waited in that damn room for hours. He had memorized it by now. He had the place committed to his memory. The stupid plain white floor and walls, the leather upholstery on the chairs, and the sickly antiseptic smell that mixed with the faint odor of blood. He waited and waited, and the longer he waited, the more hopeful he became that they were slowly, but surely saving her.

_Yes, that must be it!_ he thought to himself. _It is taking so long because they are healing all her injuries! Yes, they are saving my Sakura-chan…_

After many hours of waiting and hoping, finally, _finally_, a nurse came out to relay the news of Sakura to Lee.

And now Lee had nothing to go home to except a cold bath, and an engagement ring that would never be put on the slender, porcelain finger of his favorite kunoichi.

**(A/N: God, that was so sad to write…. But I finished it within an hour, I had so much inspiration…**

**This is a request collection, so feel free to request any one-shots for your favorite couples!**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**—Midnight Freesia)**


	2. Curse of Curves

**(A/N: Wow, thank you so much for the feedback yesterday. I loved it! I just have so much inspiration lately that I'm starting another one today. **

**Since she reviewed first — which was kinda rigged, lol — the first request I'm doing is Homicidal Whispers, better known to me as Bry. Be happy I'm doing your yaoi for you. _ I have no idea where I got the inspiration, but be grateful. Very grateful…**

**Disclaimer:**_**I own nothing. At all. I swear.**_**)**

_I've got the gift of one-liners,_

_And you've got the curse of curves._

_And with this gift I can pull words_

_From any question in just four words._

_Curse of Curves_ by Cute Is What We Aim For

Deidara was having a bad day.

First off, he woke up late today. That was really what jump-started all the rest of the crappiness of the day. He woke up late, so he couldn't eat breakfast, and instead rushed to make it to school on time.

Which, he didn't, and got a detention from his first period teacher, who also gave a very long, class-length lecture on the importance of being on time.

Also due to being late, Deidara didn't have time to fix his hair into a decent ponytail, and so his hair lanked the entire day. It annoyed him when his hair wasn't perfect — it was just a gene in the family. He was a bit of a more effeminate guy, same as his dad, and his cousins, and his uncles, and so on and so on.

He had pretty much forgotten all his homework on his cluttered desk at home, which resulted in scores bringing his grade lower, which would upset his mom. ('Cause when his mom gets upset, it's hell for a week.) Some teachers even gave him detentions, and he decided he would just do all of them in one day.

As lunch came around, Deidara figured this would be the luckiest period he had all day, but he was sadly mistaken. As he grabbed his wallet for his money he realized that — oh, right! He meant to get money from his dad today, because he was out. And he had forgotten today because _he was late._

"Life hates me," he muttered to himself, going into the hallway outside of the cafeteria. "It really, really, _really_ hates me."

The rest of his classes and gone on in the same manner the previous ones had — horrible and having that God-I-Just-Wish-This-Day-Was-Over feeling to it.

And then he went after school for detention and ended spending three hours in collaboration of all his slips, and finally, _finally_ as he began to walk home in the sweltering heat, a car passed by him —

spewing mud from the previous nights rain all onto his uniform and hair.

And that was the last straw for him — he just blew up. He cursed to the sky, causing many near-by pedestrians to look at him strangely.

He collapsed on the curb of the sidewalk, his face in his hands, wondering what he did to offend Kami-sama so.

"Hey," a smooth, deep voice said, addressing Deidara. He lifted his head from his hands and looked up at the owner of the voice. It was a tall, pale man with a low, black ponytail and his uniform, holding out another uniform. "You look like you need this."

And as Deidara took the uniform from the man's hands, it felt like suddenly, the day was a lot better.

**(A/N: My first drabble…. It's a little long to be a drabble, yet a little too short to be a one-shot…. Oh, well, it's a drabble in my book!**

**Next:**** ItaSaku for Homicidal Whispers.**

**After:**** ShikaTema for maravelous. **

**Please review, and thanks for reading!**

**—Midnight Freesia)**


	3. Get Stoned

**(A/N: You can all thank Hinder for this one…. I was just listening to it, and then BAM: plot bunny gets to work. So yeah.**

**Disclaimer:**_**I own nothing. Damn it.**_**)**

_Lashing out — _

_One of the petty moves you pull before you lose control._

_You wear me out,_

_But it's all right now_

_Let's go home and get stoned;_

_We could end up makin' love instead of misery._

_Get Stoned_ by Hinder

She was party.

That was what she did. She lived, breathed, and ate party. During the day she was a brilliant, _brilliant_ little girl, but at night, if there wasn't a party, she wasn't there. She always dressed sexily, and always was able to just strut her stuff. She danced with so many guys, she couldn't keep count.

And then she met him.

Tall, lean, sexy, with a stare that could make any girl flush deeply. Oh yeah, she had decided he was _ice._ It was cool and hot, all at the same time.

But not Sakura — no, she was better than them. She stared right back at him, seductively and defiantly. Her short, bubblegum pink hair fluttered around her head, mussed from all the dancing.

She breathed in a deep breath filled with all the taste of all the sweat, the booze, the hormones, _the party_, and strutted over to him confidently.

He was sitting at the bar, and she sat down next to him on the blood red stool and ordered a random fruity drink that she first spotted on the menu. The barmen gave it to her and flashed her a sexy smile and a wink. She just smiled at him, with that smile that said _Sorry, but I got my eyes on another man tonight_ that all the barmen in town knew from her. He grumbled and went to serve another customer.

There was a brief moment of silence — well, as silent it could be in a club pounding with music — and Sakura sipped her drink, and her throat tingled as the alcohol in it slid down her throat. She sighed happily and began to sway to the song playing.

The man beside her chuckled lowly and softly, and Sakura stopped and blinked, looking at him. Her pink lips were curved into a curious pout, and her jade eyes sparkled under the club lights.

"Sorry?" she said in that high, mousey tone reserved for her clubbing hours. He just looked at her, his onyx eyes smoldering, and Sakura's breath hitched for a short moment.

"Nothing," he responded, with a deep, silky voice. "You're just very cute."

_Cute?_ Sakura thought to herself, her brow creasing. _I am not aiming for _cute_. I'm supposed to be sexy — irresistible._

"What's wrong?" the man asked with a teasing tone. "Are you getting frustrated?"

"Well, _duh_," she said before she could stop herself. "I'm not aiming for _cute_." She said the word like it was a dirty one, her eyes darkening with embarrassment.

Sakura felt like she was being treated like a little kid. She had always heard words like "cute" "adorable" "pretty" and "tiny" to describe her.

That's why she had done this. That's why she had _made_ it known to the town that she was _party_, and if she wasn't there, there was none.

And here was this guy treating her as if she's five.

"Sorry, cutie," he said, smirking at the look of fury in her eyes. "But that's what you are. Slender face, body, pinkish hair — that's cute to me."

"Then what's sexy?" she asked, taking another sip of her drink, licking her lips after she was done.

"Nothing," he responded quickly. "There is no woman or man in this world who appeals to me as 'sexy.'"

Sakura's jaw dropped. This man found no woman sexy? What was _wrong_ with him? How did he relieve himself, then? The man just smirked at her, and leaned closer, until she could feel his breath on her lips.

"No, nothing is sexy," he responded huskily. "But that doesn't matter to me. I prefer _cute_ things."

Sakura stared at him with bright, jade eyes and smirked.

"Itachi," the man said, pulling back from her face.

"Sakura," she responded in her normal club voice.

"Well, Sakura, I think I would like to take you home."

She smiled one slow, _cute_ smile.

"I think I'd like that, Itachi."

She was party, and he was ice, but somehow, it worked.

**(A/N: Bleh, another drabble, but I don't care. I liked it, personally. Hope you did too, Bry!**

**Next:**** ShikaTema for maravelous**

**After:**** NaruHina for Blizzard of love.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**—Midnight Freesia.)**


	4. Hands Down

**(A/N: Finally, it's someone else's turn for a request! Yay! And hopefully, this is good, but it took me forever to find a song for it. Ah, I love my Dashie. Hope you like it, Mara!**

**Disclaimer:**_** I own nothing…. As usual.**_**)**

_Your legs are smooth,_

_as they graze mine,_

_we're doing fine,_

_we're doing nothing at all._

_My hopes are so high,_

_that your kiss might kill me._

_So won't you kill me,_

_so I die happy?_

_Hands Down_ by Dashboard Confessional_  
_Was this really happening? I mean, was this _really_ happening? I guess it was, because after all, I was looking over the scroll of the finer details of it, but it was still hard to process.

Okay, let me catch you up. For purposes I'm not sure why, there needed to be a way to keep the peace in Konoha and Suna. Gaara had said that a Sand kunoichi — or civilian, but it was better if it was a ninja — was going to have to travel to the Konoha village and live there. I volunteered, figuring, "Hey, it's not that bad of a place. Why not?" but, only _after_ they had secured the fact that I was going to go, they had told me _why_ I was going.

The kunoichi going — a.k.a. _me_ — to Konoha was going to be presented to the Konoha council — which was made mostly up of clan leaders — and they would choose who's son or nephew or whatever the kunoichi — again, that's me — was going to _marry_.

_Marry._

_MARRY._

I did not _mean_ to sign up for an arranged marriage with some random guy Konoha set me up with! I mean, _Jesus_, I wasn't even planning to get married — or to date, for that matter — for at _least_ a couple more years. Sure, it would be great to have a love life, but right now, I just didn't care about that. I wanted to fight while I was still in my prime, and I didn't need to worry about things like _guys_ and _dates_ and _marriage_ and _sex_ and _babies_ and _heartbreak_ and the other things a love life came entitled.

I was just screwed. I was just really, really, _really_ screwed.

--

--

I stared at myself in the mirror of our bathroom at the hotel in Konoha we were staying at. You know, I figured that if I was going to be paired of with a random clan heir or whatever, they would _at least_ have me meet them in my normal attire. In my normal, wonderful, comfortable ninja clothes.

Yeah — no.

I was forced to go to the meeting in the only formal kimono I owned, which I didn't until recently. (Gaara had sent Matsuri out to go buy me one, because he knew I wouldn't have one otherwise.)

Matsuri had also attacked me with _make-up_. Ugh, I don't know how other girls can stand this stuff. It made my face feel hot and sticky and I was afraid to scratch my face in case the make-up would smudge and make me look stupid.

But, the _worse_ of all, I was forced to leave my hair down. After doing my make-up, Matsuri had taken out my ponytails and brushed my hair and straightened it and put some sticky "smoothing" crap in it.

So now, when I looked at myself in the mirror, the only way I knew it was actually me was the dark blue eyes and short, dirty blonde hair. Everything else didn't look like it had my essence. _None_ of it screamed _Temari. _

"Oi, sis, you done yet?" Kankuro said loudly, knocking on my bathroom door. I rolled my eyes and called back, "Yeah, I am."

I heard him shuffle away from the door and I took this opportunity to open the door and step out, showing the "prettied-up" — as Matsuri had described it — me to them. I was pretty sure I was blushing, and shifting uncomfortably in the unfamiliar material.

"_Damn_, Tema," Kankuro exclaimed, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "You clean up good, don'tcha?"

"Shut up, Kankuro," I muttered to him, blushing a little bit more. He just threw his head back and laughed, and squeezed me from the arm he had around me. He leaned into my ear and smiled.

"Really, Temari," he whispered in my ear. "You look beautiful. I think I'm going to have to ward off men." We laughed quietly together, and I lightly elbowed him in the stomach. He grinned and hugged me full force one last time, and then I went over to Gaara.

He smiled at me, with a soft look in his eyes. I knew that was Gaara code for _I approve_ and I smiled back at him.

--

--

It was silent.

Like really, really, _really_ silent.

_And I couldn't take it._

I sighed heavily making everyone either turn their eyes in annoyance to me, or jump a little from the sudden sound.

We were waiting for the last clan heads — apparently, it was the head, their wife/husband if they were still alive, and then the kid they were putting it up for — and they were already like 10 minutes late. So we had been waiting for _ten_ minutes in pure, pure, _silence_.

And I can't _stand_ silence.

That was probably why every minute we endured of the silence when he would sense that I was becoming irritated, Kankuro would put a hand on my shoulder.

I was also getting tired of standing for so long.

I can't stand for a long period of time, because my legs get tired and I get lazy. I can walk for a long while, I just can't _stand_. And these freaking people didn't have the decency to offer me a chair.

Was I really going to have to _ask_ for a friggen' chair? Obviously, I was uncomfortable being kept standing, and I was constantly shifting my weight from one foot to another, but they _just didn't get it._

"Can I have a chair?" I asked, crudely cutting into the silence. The more pompous clan heads glared at me — though the reason why I'm not very sure — and I ignored them.

Tsunade looked around for an extra chair and she just waved me off after searching to no avail. "Sit on a clean area of my desk. I don't care."

Some of the clan heads gaped at her, as if that was such a bad thing? Matsuri got to sit on Gaara's desk all the time, and so did I. I shrugged and jumped atop a small spot I saw that was free from the piles of paperwork that had built up on the desk.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," I said politely, and I could tell Kankuro was close to sniggering at me, so I shot him a glare that said _Shut up, or you'll regret it_ and he did instantly. Tsunade just grinned at me, and I went back to looking at my feet. And the walls. And my feet. And the walls….

You can tell where this is going, right?

The door to the room opened and I breathed a sigh of relief — and then stopped cold when I saw who it was.

Shikamaru freaking Nara was staring straight back at me, eyes wide open, hands in his pockets. _Temari?_ he mouthed to me. I nodded and slammed my head against my palm.

Life just couldn't get any better.

--

--

Gaara, Kankuro and I were now waiting in the waiting room of the Hokage tower. In the meeting room they were currently discussing which clan would be boarding me. (Which, really, is the 'nicer' term I had come up for it.)

I was really, really, _really_ nervous. Most of it came from the fact that I didn't know most of them. Sure, I knew the guys from the Chuunin exam all those years ago, and they all — except the Hyuuga bastard — had given me sympathetic looks that said _You were dragged into this too?_ and I just smiled weakly.

We were being forced to stand _again_ and I was really, really anxious. I just wanted to know who it was, and hope that it was someone who I could at least generally get along with.

I found out who it was when this really pretty woman came up running to me and hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe, screaming "_I have a daughter! And she's not lazy! I have a daughter!_" I blinked and I was a little confused at what to do in response. Before I could do anything, she pulled back and beamed at me.

"Um…I don't know how to respond to that," I admitted sheepishly, and she just laughed and waved me off, saying that her husband and son would make me understand. I was a little confused for a moment, but then I made the connection when Shikamaru walked into the room.

I was going to be married to laziest man in Konoha, my new mother-in-law was incredibly peppy and counting on me to whip him into shape, and _I was going to be living with Shikamaru_.

Well, gee, isn't life swell?

--

--

I didn't have much to do when we got back to the hotel. All I really needed to do was change, take all the crap off my face and fix my hair. I did so, and I hauled the small bag I had over my shoulder with me as I exited the room Kankuro and I had shared last night. (God, that boy snores.) Gaara, Kankuro, and Matsuri were all there to see me off. Shikamaru was waiting outside for me — or so I had been told — and he would walk me to the Nara complex.

I dropped my bag so I could hug them, and smiled. I hugged Matsuri first, and whispered to her to tell me if Gaara made her unhappy, and I would set him straight. She just giggled and let go me, telling me she would. I moved to Kankuro next, hugging him tightly.

"I'mma miss you, sis," he whispered to me as we hugged. "We'll be sure to visit, I promise."

"Damn right you do," I muttered back to him, and we broke off laughing

Then I moved over to Gaara and gave him a tight hug. He froze for a second, not used to that contact, but I felt him smile and hug me back after a minute.

"Love you, little bro," I whispered to him as we parted, and I smiled at him, and he gave me a small smile to me in return. I breathed out heavily and grabbed bag again, giving them all a big goodbye, and walking out the door and to the outside of the hotel.

And Shikamaru was indeed waiting there for me, leaning outside the wall lazily. I could tell he was trying to sleep standing up, with the way his eyes were closed and his mouth was formed in an open O.

"Oi!" I yelled, snapping him out of his sleepy stupor. He looked at me in annoyance, and I just grinned at him. He looked me over, and I resisted the urge to blush. Jeez, how _rude_ was that? (_Uh, huh_, my other side of me thought, _'rude.'_)

"So troublesome," Shikamaru groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"You haven't changed a bit," I said, walking over to him. "You're _still_ lazy as hell, and it's_ still_ 'troublesome this' or 'troublesome that.'" He just shrugged me off and I rolled my eyes. "Now, are you gonna lead the way or not?"

He sighed, and we started walking.

--

--

We had been walking for a while, and I was looking around at the unfamiliar scenery of Konoha. It was hitting us both that we were pretty much getting married. It was pretty awkward for both of us, and every time we accidentally bumped into each other as we walked, we would both share a quick glance, and blush.

The town was definitely bustling with people — I wasn't used to all these people. Suna's population was increasingly smaller than Konoha's, with a lot less civilians. I was going to have to get used to all these people and shops and clans…it was probably going to be hard, but, then again, it _was_ my duty.

I kept seeing Shikamaru glance at me out of the corner of his eye, and keep looking over me. The vein in my forehead began to throb out of annoyance, and I grit my teeth.

"Hey," I said harshly. "If you've got something to say, say it already." I shot him a glare and he sighed and rubbed his neck.

"I just still can't believe you wore that kimono," he admitted to me, and I immediately looked down and blushed. "And let your hair down, and wore make-up." _Damn you, Matsuri_, I cursed.

"Yeah, well," I grumbled, "apparently, it was 'required' of me. I would have just gone casual if Matsuri hadn't tied me down. I really couldn't stand my hair being down."

"It's alright," he said quickly. "It looked nice that way."

We both blushed once we realized what he said and looked away from each other.

Damn these stupid feelings I had. They made me so weak.

--

--

I sighed and rolled over onto my stomach.

Shikamaru's clan house was very large, and very nice. They had a beautiful forest behind the compound that was perfect for training — Shikaku had asked me very nicely if I only practiced taijutsu there, since he was afraid my wind jutsu would cut up the forest too much — and they had given me a large room with it's a bathroom and everything.

The only downside of it was that the bathroom was a connecting one, and Shikamaru was right next-door. We had a very awkward moment when we both when in to use the bathroom at the same time. (God, that was horrible.)

But now I was so freaking bored. I was really tired, but I just couldn't bring myself to go to sleep. The moon was full and very bright, and Yoshino hadn't gotten curtains for my room yet. I was also restless because I was in a new place. It's always horribly uncomfortable for me to sleep in a room that wasn't mine, unless there was someone there with me.

I groaned and stood up, not bothering to put anything over the shorts and T-shirt I had to sleep in. I crept quietly through the hallway, my feet making soft padding sounds. I opened the screen door leading outside to the forest as quietly as I could, leaving it opened behind me.

The cool, brisk, autumn air hit me sharply, but it felt so nice. The wind blew my hair across my face — I leave it down to sleep — and I sighed and sat down on one of the few wooden steps they had as back porch-like thing that went into the courtyard that led into the forest.

I heard soft footfalls across the dirt and looked up from my lap. I saw a baby deer edging closer and closer to me. I _awed_ inwardly and held out my hand and beckoned it closer, cooing. It eventually had gotten close enough to me, and I petted it softly, and it rubbed up against my hand. I smiled as I petted it, and I felt at peace.

Eventually, its mother had called it back, and it licked my hand once and trotted back to her, making contented sounds. I leaned back on my hands and closed my eyes, just relaxing in the cool air.

"Hey."

I looked up, a little startled at the sudden presence, but relaxed when I saw it was Shikamaru. He sat down next to me, in nothing but a baggy shirt and boxers, and leaned back on his hands like me.

"What're you doing out here?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep," I answered truthfully. "I have this thing where I can't sleep in a room that's not mine unless there's someone else with me. It'll probably take me a while to get used to my new room."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Like when Kankuro, Gaara, Matsuri and I used to go to conferences and things, I would always have to share a room with Kankuro because Matsuri always had to share with Gaara. And Kankuro _snores_ so fucking loud, I have to use earplugs." I rolled my eyes in emphasis.

He laughed softly, and it sounded a little like heaven.

--

--

It was another restless night, and I was back out in the courtyard, staring up at the moon, bright and high in the night sky. I was half-counting on Shikamaru to come back out like he did last night and talk with me for a couple hours, because that truly was nice.

Shikamaru really wasn't that bad, in truth. Sure, he was lazy and said _troublesome_ a lot, but he was really rather sweet and could hold a decent conversation. I remember how we talked for forever last night. He was so sweet and stayed up with me until I almost passed out, and he helped walk me back to my room. I feel that he might've stared at my ass when I collapsed face down on my bed, but it could just be me.

I smiled, and I stood up, and I walked over to the screen door and walked through the open doorway, and turned to the right of the doorway. There stood Shikamaru, leaning against the wall and he looked at me, a small hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"You know, Shikamaru," I started to say, walking towards him. "For a genius, you really are an idiot."

And then I kissed him.

--

--

I had gotten a really good sleep tonight, apparently. I was oddly comfortable, and really, really warm. My pillow was kind of hard, but really rather smooth, and there was an unfamiliar weight on my ring finger. I felt something moving on my shoulder, and it felt a little rough, mostly smooth, and very warm. I shifted a little, wanting to sleep a little longer.

"You know, I really like your hair down."

I was a little confused, and I opened my eyes and leaned on my elbows, sitting halfway up. I stared at Shikamaru's face, and everything came rushing back.

The odd comfort was the fact that I was naked, the warmth was that he was naked too; the hard pillow was because it was his chest, and the weight was an engagement ring.

Shikamaru smiled at me, and everything felt right.

**(A/N: I can't tell you how much fun I had writing that. It was freaking adorable, and I had so much inspiration. But then I got dragged to Castles N' Coasters for my friends birthday — which was **_**really**_** fun, but still — and I couldn't write. And then I got into these two animes, but I really had so much inspiration for this. **

**It also inspired me to make a fic that connects to this, that has the more 'mature' parts of one-shots I did that I just had smexin' inspiration for in it. Lemons! 8D So yeah, look out for that.**

**Next:**** NaruHina for Blizzard of love.**

**After:**** Mystery!**

**Thanks so much for reading, and please review!**

**—Midnight Freesia)**


	5. Sound of Madness

**(A/N: Yet again another angsty and cliché idea, but hey, what can you do? Anyhow, it was **_**super**_** hard to find a song for this since I didn't get inspiration from a song, just from my head. And I had another idea that wasn't as dark as this one, but I'm reading a bit of an angsty story so I'm more in the mood for angst. Anyway, hope you enjoy Blizzard!**

_**Disclaimer**_**:**_** I own nothing except the incredibly depressing idea of this…. I think.)**_

_I created the sound of madness, wrote the book on pain,_

_Somehow I'm still here to explain._

_That the darkest hour never comes in the night,_

_You can sleep with a gun;_

_When you gonna wake up and fight for yourself?_

_Sound of Madness_ by Shinedown

Hinata wished to be clean.

She wished that she were free of all the blemishes on her skin, all the blood that had stained her hands; all the dirt she felt from the disgusting mans hands. She had felt it the entire time she had been walking home from the small little village. She had felt every speck of dirt, every smudge of grime and sweat he had left there.

She had be a good actress during the actual _process_, though. She had to act all flirty; she had to act like she was enjoying herself; like she actually was _attracted_ to the guy. He was a good-looking guy, and if she was in any other position or any other person, she actually _might_ enjoy herself. But she wasn't another person, and she only ever loved one person, and it didn't matter if he ever returned her feelings or not, she would always love _him_, and _only_ him.

It scared her what Naruto might think of her now, now that she was so _dirty_, and so…_unclean._ Would he hate her? Would he think she was disgusting? Would he think she wasn't worthy of him? Probably, she figured with a small grimace and she hugged herself as she walked through the forest. Her back-up teammates — two female shinobi she had never met before but were quite kind — just looked at her with pity in their eyes.

She didn't need anyone to be _pitiful_ for her. She didn't need anyone to feel _sorry_ for her. She had handled things that were just as bad as this, and she was positive that there were plenty others suffering more than her. Like all the branch members, who frequently had to succumb to main branches' wishes, just because they were 'higher up' than the branch members. (Hinata thought they were all equal, and there was no reason for this silly prejudices.)

She was incredibly positive Naruto was worse off than her. He was despised by many of the villagers, often called horrid, unreasonable things like _demon_ and _monster_ and _Kyuubi_. He was often kicked out of most restaurants or stores, just because he was the Jinchuuriki for the demon fox. Hinata knew that he was nothing like all those things the villagers called him. Only a close variety of people were able to see the true Naruto — the Naruto that was raucous, slightly obnoxious, sweet, caring, and incredibly determined. He simply wished for everyone else to him as he truly was — not as the Kyuubi. Hinata thought it was truly a pity for someone to judge him so wrongly.

It was infuriating how they all treated him, and whenever she overhead the Hyuuga council members talking about him, all she wanted to do was yell at them and curse at them and tell them was Naruto was really like. But it wasn't like they would listen, anyway — they were Hyuuga's, who were known for a stone-cold heart and high arrogance, which sometimes got them killed if they did not assess a situation correctly.

But nay, Hinata could not do anything; she couldn't do anything despite how much her heart screamed for her to stand up for him. But usually in the Hyuuga clan, standing up to an Elder got you a serious punishment — Hanabi had done that once when she was a new Genin and she had gotten beaten quite harshly for it — and if you a Branch member your mark was activated for at least a full minute.

So she had kept her silence, begrudgingly, of course, but she kept it nonetheless.

And she kept her silence now, a blank look on her face as they entered the village. She felt hollow now, empty; she was just a little lucky she had been able to kill him before he took her virginity. She was glad that that _one_ part of her was still clean and untouched.

The guards realized the look on Hinata's face — they had seen it oh, so many times before — and sent her sympathetic looks, but Hinata ignored them. She didn't need _sympathy_ or _pity_, like she had told herself before. She was a kunoichi, and it was her duty to have these missions at least once in a while. Tears momentarily stung at her eyes, but she pushed them back. _No, I _will_ be strong._

She walked through the village to her compound like that — hugging herself with an empty, blank look on her face. Some of the other kunoichi understood that look, but none of them came up to her. They knew that the worst thing someone could give to a kunoichi after that kind of mission was sympathy or pity.

The guards at the Hyuuga entrance let her in, confused at the emotionless look on their usually bright heiress.

"Hinata-sama?" one of them asked. "Are you alright?"

Hinata stopped for a moment, and then responded in a flat voice, "No, I'm not alright. I'm not fine in the slightest. But it is my duty as a ninja and as a Hyuuga to act like I am." The guards wondered what was wrong with her, but before they could ask she continued on walking into the compound.

She passed by multiple people she knew very well from the compound, and ignored their questions, just kept walking on and on until she finally reached the sanctity of her room. From there she collapsed on her bed and began crying uncontrollably. She made sure her crying was as silent as possible as she curled up on her bed. She sobbed for what seemed like hours, until she had cried so much that she wasn't sure if she had any more tears left.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji called from her door, knocking as well. "Dinner's being served."

"Go away," she mumbled through her pillow.

Neji ignored her small mutter that he understood — even through the door — and opened the door, obviously aware to the fact that there was something wrong with her. He looked at her crumpled form with her face buried in her pillow, and she was hiccupping and gasping it had been obvious she was crying for a long period of time.

"Hinata-sama…"

Hinata looked up at him sharply, the angry look on her face taken away by her red nose and eyes.

"I said _go away_!" She threw a pillow at him harshly, and he caught it and laid it back on her bed. He sat next to her still half-sobbing form.

"Hinata-sama, what has happened?" he asked her in a soft tone, usually reserved for when Hinata was in a state like the one she was in at the moment. It wasn't often that she broke down completely like this, so when she did, it was his duty to calm her down.

"I-I had a m-m-mission," she answered back finally, her frantic gasping making her stutter. "A-And i-i-it had-d-d a s-specialt-ty f-for a k-kunoichi."

At that moment Neji immediately understood what the mission was. Missions that had a specialty for kunoichi were usually seduction missions; usually the village would send only the most qualified kunoichi out to do these jobs, but they were on a shortage of shinobi, so they were sending people that, in better times, wouldn't even be considered for these missions.

_Like TenTen and Hinata,_ Neji thought bitterly. He remembered when TenTen had come back from her first — and only, so far — seduction mission. Lee and Neji had gone to get TenTen for the monthly Team Gai training day and she was a wreck. She hadn't eaten or slept in days, and she had closed all the blinds and curtains and curled herself up on her bed and cried.

It was one of the first times both Neji and Lee had seen her cry. Usually, she was incredibly strong, but this one of her true moment of weakness. The training had been postponed that day, and Neji and Lee stayed at her house to try to comfort her. It had taken her at least a week to get over it enough to go out and see other people, and Neji knew that she would never be _fully_ over it.

But now he was seeing Hinata curled up just like TenTen had been, crying her eyes out. He couldn't stand seeing either of them hurt in such a way, and it angered him that two of the people he cared for most had gotten hurt so much.

"Hinata-sama," he murmured softly, touching her arm. "You know you have to be at dinner, so why don't you go take a quick shower, I'll cover for you, and get to the dinner table as soon as possible, alright?" Hinata nodded, sniffling, weakly getting up and walking over to her bathroom.

"You can talk with me, Hinata-sama," Neji told her quietly as he left. "Or your teammates, or your sensei, and you can talk to TenTen as well. She went through the same thing a while ago." Again, Hinata nodded and smiled at Neji, giving him a croaked _Thank you._

--  
--

"Where is Hinata?" Hiashi asked as Neji came back into the dining room and sat back at his designated seat.

"She was in the bath when I went to get her," he answered back calmly. "I informed her dinner was being served and she said she would finish her bath and come out as quickly as possible."

Hiashi made no indication he heard Neji, but Neji knew that he had. All the members at the table waited quietly for Hinata to go to the dinner table, as was tradition. A few minutes after Neji came back Hinata was seen running down the hall into the dining room, slowing down as she entered the room.

"Gomen," she apologized, her hair still dripping lightly as she bowed before sitting. After she was sitting they began eating in a polite manner. Very stiff, formal and traditional eating in the Hyuuga household.

After a few minutes of stiff silence that all of them knew did not need to be filled with mindless chatter, Hiashi spoke.

"Hinata," he addressed, and she subconsciously stiffened a little, "you just got back from a mission, correct?"

"Hai, otou-sama."

"I heard it was an assassination."

Hinata paused for a moment. She knew where this was going.

"Hai, otou-sama, it was."

"Were you the one who killed?"

She nodded blankly, trying to pull up those Hyuuga skills of being completely calm and cool.

"Was the mission successful?"

"Hai, otou-sama," Hinata replied, thankful he hadn't heard about the kunoichi specialty for it. "I disposed of our target successfully."

"Very good, Hinata," he said, and if you looked really hard, you could see a hint of a smile on his face. "I am proud."

Hinata smiled, thinking of the irony that came with that. "Arigato, otou-sama."

"Well," Hanabi interrupted with a snide voice, cutting her food up slyly, "I heard it had a specialty for a kunoichi." Hinata almost choked on her water and Neji just glared at Hanabi. Hiashi turned his gaze, much colder than before, to Hinata.

"Is this true?"

Hinata didn't answer. She just stood up, not bothering to push in her chair, and left the compound.

"Well," Hanabi said, "it goes to show that she values the villages concerns more than her own family's. A pity."

--

--

Hinata wasn't really sure where she was. She had just started running and running and running and she hadn't really thought of stopping until now. It had started raining mid-run, so now she was even more soaked then she was before. Her feet hurt from all the small rocks she had run over, stabbing her with every step she took. She had only been dressed in a tank top and some shorts, which was her casual wear — what they wore to dinner. She felt every cold, icy drop that ran down her legs.

It kind of made her feel like she was clean.

She just stood for a moment, half trying to make sense of where she was, half just standing there for the heck of it.

Then everything came crashing down on her again, and she collapsed in a sobbing heap. She was pretty sure she had passed out, but she felt warm arm grip her shoulders and legs. She blearily opened her eyes to look at the person carrying her.

"N…Naruto-kun?" she asked weakly.

He smiled down at her, with one of his genuine, happy smiles that always seemed to make her day feel brighter, and it instantly was so.

"Where are you taking me?"

He paused momentarily, but then he smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Home."

**(A/N: So sorry that took forever. I started writing it and then I lost inspiration, and then I wrote it again and then I cleaned my room for eight hours and now my back feels like hell from all the bending over and sweeping into the dust pan, so blegh. **

**Next:**** GaaMatsu for Homicidal Whispers.**

**After****: My choice (;**

**It wasn't really that good, was it? Eh. Plus my shift key's being a bitch. I screwed it up cleaning my keyboard.**

**Please review! Thanks for reading! **

**—Midnight Freesia.)**


	6. Shining Collection

**(A/N: I has inspiration! Yay! **

**And I do realize that the song has nothing to do with the chapter. But I fucking love this song. And I listened to it while writing. And Bry loves it. GRAVITATION FTW. *Gravitation is one of the awesome animes ever. It's yaoi. Damn you Bryana.***

**So, I present, GaaMatsu for Bry!**

_**Disclaimer**__: __**Does it look like I own anything besides a computer, internet access and Word? Didn't think so.**_**)**

_Kiss shining, imitating loneliness;_

_Cutting into space with entwined regret._

_Make me shining, fragments of my scattered heart!_

_A radiance that surpasses hope._

_Shining Collection_ by Nittle Grasper

"Matsuri!"

She became vaguely aware of someone she knew calling her name. She tired to move or open her eyes but she couldn't. She hurt too much, and she was oh, so tired. She tried to drift back off to that wonderful, _wonderful_ sleep again.

But nay, that same voice wouldn't let her. He kept waking her and waking her with gentle, caring shakes.

"Matsuri," the voice whispered. "Matsuri, wake up, please!"

Her name was Matsuri? She couldn't remember. Her head felt light and she felt dizzy and so _so_ tired. But she couldn't sleep now. She felt like that voice was someone important, someone she knew she had to listen to. So she opened her eyes with obvious strain.

Everything was blurry and unfocused, and it kept shifting to in focus and out, and it made her eyes hurt. She winced and hissed out an edge of breath, squinting to try to see.

She could see blood red; she could see it on top of someone's head, on her. She knew that the red was on that voice's head — she knew that voice? They were someone so-so-so important to her, right?

"Gaa-ra…kun?" she whispered hoarsely. Yes, she was right. This was her fiancé, that voice…

"Matsuri," he whispered sadly, wiping the blood off from her chin and flicking it behind him.

She smiled and lunged forward and kissed him, right there in front of everyone.

He just smiled.

**(A/N: Yes, a drabble, but a chapter nonetheless. I thought it was the perfect length. Right? **

**Next:**** My choice (;**

**After****: SasuHina for Homicidal Whispers**

**You know…feel free to request again somebody…. I don't mind. Really.**

**Thanks for reading! Review please!**

**—Midnight Freesia)**


	7. Turn It Off

**(A/N: I got my inspiration for this chapter from the new Paramore album! Woo! **_**Brand New Eyes**_** is seriously epic. You all should go listen to it. Like, now. Seriously.**

_**Disclaimer: **_**I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does that. I don't own the song, either — that epicness belongs to Paramore.**)

_It's all wrong the way we're working,_

_Towards a goal that's nonexistent —_

_It's nonexistent, but we just keep believing._

_And the worst part is before it gets_

_Any better we're headed for a cliff;_

_And in the freefall I_

_Will realize I'm better off when I hit the bottom…_

—_Turn It Off_ by Paramore.

TenTen closed her eyes, letting the cold, winter downpour hit her head-on. She looked up above her slowly, her tears mixing with the rain. You couldn't even tell she was crying.

Well, that is, unless you really knew her.

No, Neji could see them. He could see every single one as they traveled down her eyes to her cheek, down her neck and into her shirt. He could see every tear she cried for their dead sensei. He walked up behind her and took her hand in his.

She finally looked at him, and she knew that, even though they had hit the bottom, it was better that way.

Because he was with her, no matter what.

**(A/N: Yeah, just a short little drabble for my favorite bands new album. (: And yes, it was meant to be a little confusing. You may see more Paramore in the next chapters. I don't plan to stop listening to this non-stop for a while. **

**Hoped you liked it, and please review!**

**— Midnight Freesia)**


	8. Young Blood Spills Today

**(A/N: I am totally sorry I randomly disappeared. I did this for all my other fics too. Except for those **_**Kingdom Hearts**_** poems I wrote for no apparent reason. I don't know either, except that I've been in a KH mood lately. **

**So I originally intended to write this differently, but then it just turned to something else, so I just used the song I originally wrote for this. **_**White Lace**_** by Eyes Set To Kill **_**almost**_** worked, except it was about some kind of succubus, and we **_**all**_** know Hinata is not a succubus. At least, I don't think so…**

**Anyhow, I present: HinaSasu for Homicidal Whispers!**

_**Disclaimer:**__** Do we need to go over this again?**_**)**

_Young blood spills tonight_

_This time the victim is you._

_Poison lips, the ones you kiss._

_I swear my love for you is true._

_Young blood spills…_

_Young Blood Spills Tonight_ by Eyes Set To Kill

Brilliant colored eyes stared at each other through the dead night; chests' breathed in crisp night air. They circled each other once, twice, three times.

They struck at each other, metal clashing against metal, drawing sparks and high-pitched squealing noises that made Hinata want to cringe. She didn't of course — if she did that, she would no doubt get a stab to the throat. And that would mean _game over._

And Hinata didn't do _game over_.

She parried the attack, coating the kunai in her hand with a sharp, thin level of chakra and struck, the veins near her eyes straining against the skin. He knocked the kunai out of her hand fluidly, catching her at point blank.

She froze, staring at Sasuke with controlled, careful eyes.

He smirked, not an uncommon thing for him to do, but she glared at it anyway.

"I win," he announced clearly and slid his sword back into its sheath, the smirk still visible on his face.

Hinata rolled her eyes at her sort-of-kind-of husband and went over to put the kunai back in her pack.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly trying all that much this time."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? And why would that be?"

She smiled and turned to look at him. "Do you really have to ask?"

"Do you really have to answer a question with a question?"

But, nonetheless, he grabbed her and kissed her, rubbing the stomach where their child was now growing.

**(A/N: And that's it! Sorry it's not longer, but I stretched it out as much as I could. Longer than the last one, huh? **

**I have an important poll up about if I should change my name to **_**Midnight Essence**_** so just go and vote, please! Thanks!**

**And my **_**Metamorphosis**_** readers — don't worry! I'll be updating soon! I just need to feed my muse, which has been hungry for KH poems, and a **_**Mortal Instruments**_** — THE BEST series I have ever read, by the way — ficlet. The next chapter is in the works!**

**Next:**** KonoHana for Blizzard of love**

**After:**_**No**_** idea**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**—Midnight Freesia)**


	9. In The Dark

**(A/N: So…um…don't kill me?**

** I haven't been updating any of my stories lately…inspiration had been swept away from me. D:**

** I should have another NaruHina one up shortly after this. YAY **_**MEMENTO MORI**_**! I love my Flyleaf, and thanks to Bry for my new CD. (:**

** Now I present KonoHana for Blizzard of love!)**

_There's only artificial light here,_

_My flaws hide well here._

_I used to be afraid of cluttered noises —_

_Now I'm afraid of silence…_

_In The Dark_ by Flyleaf

Hanabi sat in her room, waiting. It was quiet, only the faintest whisper of noises could be heard. She wondered if it was bad if she could barely hear anything.

But it wasn't silence.

Silence was like…Hanabi's enemy. She just couldn't stand it — silence made her anxious, nervous.

Now she was nervous for Hinata. She had just revealed at dinner her relationship to Uzumaki Naruto…. Her father wasn't pleased, to say the least.

Hanabi didn't know what Father would do — would he hit her? Hurt her? Maybe he would disown Hinata, make _her_ the family heiress…

But that just wouldn't work. Hinata was almost…_destined_ to lead the Hyuuga's. She would change all the terrible ways and fix everything…. Hanabi knew that all Hinata needed was just a boost of confidence — which she was already undoubtedly getting from Naruto — and she would be an excellent public speaker, an excellent ninja…and excellent clan leader.

But nobody believed she would ever do well. No one except her friends and Hanabi. They just didn't understand…

And then it was silent, and Hanabi tensed. Why did it always have to be silent? But then, Hanabi figured, it was the calm before the storm.

"_Aah_!" Hanabi heard a shriek, and a thump in Hinata's room. She heard Father's voice, though she couldn't quite make it out. Once Hanabi was sure that Father was in his office, she headed to Hinata's room.

"Onee-chan?" she whispered quietly as she slipped into the room. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Hinata replied. "I'm alright."

"Liar."

Hinata was beat up — badly. She had a bruise on her cheek, and was bleeding in multiple places. She had a particularly long gash across the top of her arm that was staining her sleeve a crimson red.

"I'm going to go get some bandages for you," Hanabi said, in the kind of tone that said _Don't even try to stop me_ that her sister knew oh, so well.

Hinata smiled at her. "Thank you."

And so she exited the clan house, getting a wary, but knowing look from Neji on her way out. It was silent as she walked, snow falling softly all around her. She lifted her scarf up to the bridge of her nose, warming her hands together in her jacket pockets.

As she was walking along the street, just looking at the brightly lit signs, she was smacked into. She fell down onto her rear with a _thud_, and she huffed and glared at the other figure a foot away from her.

"Hey, watch it!"

A sheepish, familiar looking face grinned back up at her from the snow. She rolled her eyes.

_Figures that Konohamaru would be the one to knock me down_.

"Sorry, about that, Hanabi," he apologized. "Guess I wasn't looking where I was going."

She sighed. "I guess I wasn't either, it's cool."

"No, no," he said, shaking his head. "Let me help you up. I'll buy you whatever you were about to buy."

"You don't have to do that — " Hanabi was cut off.

"Oh, but I do." Konohamaru grinned at her and inclined his head to let her take the lead. Hanabi, figuring she would never get him off her case unless she let him, sighed and began heading to the medical store again.

"Oh, you stocking up for a mission or something?" Konohamaru asked her as they entered the small store. She shook her head.

"No, it's…um…for my sister. She has a big mission coming up…she, uh, wants to be prepared…yeah…"

Hanabi mentally smacked herself. It sounded so…unconvincing — could he tell she was lying? Maybe he just enough of an idiot not to notice. But if he was like Naruto in the aspect that he had mental capacity and could notice things, she was screwed.

She was getting a little nervous when he stayed silent after her comment. Why did the quiet always have to come back and bite her in the ass? It just wasn't fair.

"You're lying," Konohamaru told her as they began walking along the quiet street to the Hyuuga manor.

_Damn it._

"No," she lied. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Trust me — you are."

"Why don't you just shut the hell up?"

They had finally arrived at the Hyuuga manor. Neji was waiting outside the door, leaning against the porch. He eyed her and jerked his head in direction of Hinata's room, which translated into _Hurry_.

"Look," she said, abruptly grabbing all the medical equipment out of Konohamaru's hands, "just forget it, okay? It's none of your business…" She hesitated before continuing. "It's strictly Hyuuga main branch matters. You really wouldn't understand."

Hanabi opened the tall gate to the mansion with a key she fished out of her pocket, but before she could close the gate, Konohamaru caught her risk. He looked at her with serious, deep eyes that she couldn't quite decode.

"Hey…if you need someone to talk to…I'll be there."

And Hanabi smiled, just the faintest of smiles.

"Thanks."

And maybe, she figured, if Konohamaru was there, it wouldn't be so silent and dark all the time.

**(A/N: Yay! Finally got it up! Hope you all liked it!**

**Next:**** NaruHina**

**After****: Possibly another NaruHina**

** Please review, and thanks for reading!**

** —Midnight Essence)**


	10. Navigate Me

**(A/N: Originally not the song I planned not to write this to, but I was in a CIWWAF mood. Also not the pairing, but it just fit. NaruHina will be in the next chapter.**

** This is gonna be a long one…**

**And now I change the main characters every chapter to the ones of the new one-shot. If you don't like it, sue me.  
**

**Disclaimer**_**:**_** I own nothing…at all. Including the epic song.)**

_I'm creeping your way,_

_And these sheets aren't stopping me._

_That's right, it's quite simply,_

_These sheets aren't stopping me._

'_Cause my mind's on a mission._

_And a mind on a mission,_

_Is a mind that you just set free…_

_Navigate Me_ by Cute Is What We Aim For

You know, life sort of has this way of biting you in the ass once something good happens. We've all experienced it once in our lives, right?

But this? This was like…the epitome of the _I hate you so much life_ feeling.

--

--

"Sa-_ku_-ra-_cha-a-a-an_!" I heard Naruto whine at me. Fuck him. This is my _only_ day off this month, and hell if I wasn't going to sleep in. I tried to pretend I was still asleep and didn't hear him.

Yeah. Didn't work out too well.

He continued to bug me…and bug me…and bug me, until I finally lost it, snapped my head up and growled at him. He backed off immediately and I dropped my head back down again.

Then he did it again.

"What the _fuck_ do you want, Naruto?" I snarled, finally sitting up, glaring at him. "It's my day off and you have me up at…" I looked at the clock quickly, "…_seven _o' clock?"

"But, Saku — " I cut him off.

"_But_ nothing. I have to work 4-hour shifts at the hospital every day plus my regular missions _and_ I sub for Academy senseis. _It's. My. Day. Off._" I raised my eyebrow at him, challenging him to continue to try getting me up. He looked at me sheepishly.

"But Sasuke's here."

_Blink._

_ Blink. _

_ Blink._

"_He's what_?"

--

--

And so started my day from hell. Naruto had gotten me up because we had to have a meeting with the Council — oh wow, I'm so honored! (_hope you heard the sarcasm in that_) — to decide his punishment. You know what I would have chosen? Life sentence in jail. That's how much I _hated_ him right now.

You don't get it, do you? You don't get how I would hate him, right? Because I'm in love with him and would do anything for him and blah blah blah, right?

Wrong. _Dead_ wrong.

If he had come back just maybe a _little_ bit later, I would have been more okay with it. I had _just_ — and I mean _just_ — gotten over him. Yeah, you heard me. I no longer loved Sasuke Uchiha. I didn't even _like_ him.

And then he has to come back and ruin it all.

You can see why I'm so pissed off, right? Just the thought of him _here_, _wanting_ to come back to the village both annoys to me to no end and makes me want to cry joyful tears.

But the latter isn't going to happen. Why? 'Cause I don't cry any more. Crying is the old Sakura — the useless one. And I'll be damned if I was useless.

--

--

My stomach had started turning when we turned on the street to the Hokage's office. I sort of felt like puking and I could tell my face was probably green. Naruto patted my back as we entered and headed up towards Tsunade's office and I shrugged his hand off.

_I can handle this_, I told him with my face. He nodded.

_Okay._

I took a deep breath, then grabbed the knob and opened the door.

Sasuke stared me right in the face. He looked the same as always — pompous, arrogant, and a tad bit sexy. (_a tad bit?_ my mind asked) The corner of his mouth lifted as if he'd heard my mental comment. I just glared in response, deciding that it was just my mere presence.

Tsunade-sama just looked at me in exasperation with an _I feel your pain_ look. I replied with a _No, you don't_.

"Okay, we all know why we're here," Tsunade announced. I rolled my eyes, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. She glared at me and continued speaking. "He's going to be on probation for three years, then promoted to Jonin. Sensei, if he wants."

"So we're going to trust with our Genin?" I snapped. "Our untrained, defenseless, brainwash-able Genin? Just like that?"

"There will be time to test his loyalty," she said, and I could tell she was at the end of her patience. "He came here knowing the consequences."

(_does it look like I give a shit?_)

"_Anyway_," she continued with emphasis, "it has been decided that until his probation is over, and he has access to the Uchiha compound, he will be staying at your place, Sakura."

I saw red and my mouth fell open.

"_He's going to be __what_?"

--

--

And this is how my day turned even shittier. _My house_ — why _mine_? He could have stayed at Kakashi's, even though he's a perv…or Naruto's, even though he's living with Hinata now, or…or…_anybody but me_.

It was an awkward walk home. I was seething and PMS-y the whole way, and he followed behind me, ignoring all the looks and glares sent his way.

The only time we stopped was when Ino came running out, wondering what the hell was going on. I told her I would tell her later, and she huffed, shoved a candle in my hands, and went back into her shops.

"Hey." I turned around and faced Sasuke. We were at my apartment door now; it was the first time he had spoken all day. "You're being really pissy at me. Why?"

I looked at him blankly. (_is he honestly that stupid?_) "Wow. You really wanna ask me that question?"

He blinked blandly, looking at me. "Yeah. Why else would I have asked it?"

I shrugged angrily, turning back to unlock my door. "I dunno — maybe just to be an asshole? You're good at doing that."

I didn't let him answer as I opened the door and stomped inside. I heard him follow me and close the door behind him quietly. I went straight to the kitchen to fix me a mimosa — I was definitely going to need to be a tad bit drunk to be able to make it through the night. When Sasuke saw me getting out a bottle of vodka he raised his eyebrow.

"You drink?"

"Only when I feel pretty damn shitty." Hopefully he got the meaning.

"You feel shitty around me? And, for another — you curse?"

Awesome. He did. "I feel shitty just _thinking_ about you. It's twenty times worse when you're actually there. And yes, dickwad, I do curse. Why wouldn't I?" He was starting to piss me off.

"Because you're Sakura."

I abruptly slammed down the orange juice carton, whirled around and looked in the face. "_Listen_ here, _Sasuke_," I spat, tired of his crap. "I'm not that weak little Genin I used to be. I don't cry every fucking three seconds, I don't obsess over you, I have _three_ different jobs, _and_ I don't abandon my village."

That should piss him off, right? Really _worm_ its way into his heart and stab at a sensitive point.

But he's Sasuke Uchiha. He doesn't have a heart.

"But you probably do still have a crush on me."

_Blink._

_ Blink._

_ Blink._

This was unbefuckinglievable. I just…_wow_. I was ready to tear his throat out with my bare hands and use his head as kunai target practice.

Now I was _mad_. Not the _OhmygodIcan'tbelieveyou_ mad (_though I did feel like that_), but the mad where you act calm, and the other person can tell if they don't shut up, they're going to get their asses handed to them.

"Sasuke," I said, bitingly, and took a small sip of my mimosa, "I'm going to say this once and _only_ once, so you better fucking listen. _I. Don't. Like. You. _I don't _love_ you. I don't even remotely prefer your presence in my house.

"So I'll make a deal with you. I don't even acknowledge your existence, and you make sure I don't have to. Capeshe?"

I started to walk away with my drink, and was halfway down the hall to my bedroom, until he called out, "This is an apartment, not a house."

I was gonna fucking kill him.

--

--

I'm pretty sure I had passed out in my bed, mimosa drained and only in my panties and camisole, when I got woken up.

"Sakura." Droning voice…nice smell…soft hair brushing my face…

"What the hell do you want, Sasuke?" My head felt like it had been hit multiple times by a two-by-four. I groaned and sat up, clutching my head. (_damn strong Vodka_) His face blurred in and out of focus, but I could still hear him speaking clearly.

"Where am I sleeping?"

I gave him an exasperated look. "Normally, I would make you sleep on the couch, but I think the alcohol has made me merciful for the time being." Oh, so I was being merciful now? "Until I get a mattress for the spare bedroom, sleep on the other side of my bed."

He made that little "Hn" sound and it almost made me change my mind again. I fucking _hated_ that sound.

"_But_," I stopped him, still clutching my head, "get me a painkiller out of the cabinet in my bathroom. And no pervy stuff, or I'll kick you out to the couch." I could sort of see him nod, but everything was pretty blurry and _Jesus_, my head hurt.

He came out of the bathroom with two aspirins and a glass of water. I dry-swallowed the pills and chugged the water. I gasped for air and sighed happily.

"Thanks." So I was thanking him now? What the hell? I was supposed to mad at him…I was supposed to be hating him and cursing him out every second I could…

He made another little grunt that immediately made me ashamed for thanking him. (_him and his effing little grunts_) I frowned again before looking at myself. My choppy, semi-short pink hair was all over the place, and I brushed it back behind my ears. I grabbed a pair of shorts to sleep in and wiggled them on, embarrassed Sasuke had seen me in my underwear.

He started to take his white shirt-jacket-thing off, and my eyes kind of bulged. "What the hell are you doing?" He looked at me and continued taking it off before replying.

"I'm not sleeping in this." He said it so blandly that it was like he only spoke monotone. (_like, boring, much?_) Eventually he had stripped down to everything but his boxers and I was trying hard not to stare. His chest muscles rippled every time he moved, and he was just so thin and lean…

_No. No naughty thoughts about the dickwad._

"We should probably go shopping for some clothes for you tomorrow…" I said, trailing off. "I guess I'll pick them up for you tomorrow after my hospital shift." He nodded absently, with the _Whatever I Don't Care_ kind of vibe. I glared at him, but he didn't notice. (_he's thwarting my plans, damnit_) He tossed his clothes into a corner of the room and then proceeded to get under the covers on my bed.

That _I_ was going to be sleeping in.

Why did I have that drink again?

"Sakura." (_why does he always have to be robotic-y when he talks?_) "You changed."

No shit, Sherlock.

"I tend not to trust men in my bed with me when I'm only wearing a camisole and underwear," I mumbled. I was incredibly tired now that the hangover had sort-of-kind-of wore off.

He didn't really respond for a while, and I had given up on trying to get a response and went back to sleep. But right when I was almost asleep, just on that little brink of darkness, he replied.

"You shouldn't have. They were nice."

Fucking pervert.

--

--

_3 Months Later._

_December 24._

We were having a Christmas party. I don't know why, but apparently Ino had told everyone I was having a Christmas party so the entire group came. I had gotten severely pissed off because even though Ino was the one who told everyone about the party, _we_ were the ones who had to go pick it up. Sasuke had sort of sympathized with me and took care of getting most of the crap. He had realized by now that the red dots on certain days of the calendar were significant, and that we were approaching one.

And this is why I live alone.

We decided to open each others presents after everybody left. Only Naruto knew what Sasuke's was — he couldn't be out by himself — and I didn't even know if he would like the one I made him.

Finally, everyone had left, some drunk because someone decided to spike the eggnog, and we were left with one giant freakin' mess. I stared blankly at the couch pillows thrown astray, the rug moved to a different spot, the rearranged chairs…

"My…house…"

Sasuke was already working on putting it back to normal. He knew what happened when people messed with how my shit was arranged. Seeing as he was taking good care of it, I took this opportunity to go clean up the kitchen, which hopefully was the least messy and disorganized.

Thankfully, it was, and I set to work on scrubbing the tile floor and counter off.

_What the fuck is this?_ I questioned when I encountered what looked like crusted up, moldy teriyaki sauce. _You know, scratch that. I don't want to know._ I was about ready to get some steel wool and scrub it off before Sasuke came in.

"What are you doing?" he asked, eyeing me warily.

"Trying to scrub off whatever the hell this is. And _it isn't working_."

He came up behind me and put his hand over mine on the scrubber. He pushed on it and scrubbed with rough force, but not enough to break the counter. (_this is an expensive counter, okay?_)

"See? You just have to put enough force into it."

I tried to ignore the fact that he was holding my hand (_sort of_) and that he was right up against me, his arm around my waist, and his hand just grazed the skin between my shirt and my pants.

_Screw you, hormones._

After he had let go of me — both to my relief and displeasure — he looked up and sighed.

"What?" I questioned. He pointed directly above our heads and a light blush fanned my cheeks. A mistletoe hung proudly above us.

"When the hell did that get there?"

"You put it up there, remember?" Sasuke said. "You made Ino and Kiba kiss." I did remember now, but that didn't make this situation any more comfortable.

"You know, we don't have to…" I trailed off. I was doing this just in case he didn't want to waste a kiss on me. But I have to say, living with a guy for 3 months and not touching him _at all_ becomes very frustrating, especially when you haven't had sex in forever.

It wasn't like I was a virgin or anything, because I was twenty, for crying out loud. I'm not saying it's bad to still be a virgin, but that just wasn't how I worked, I guess. My first few sex encounters were with Kiba, because we went out for a while, but then we broke up because of mutual differences. (_we're both okay around each other, though_) Ever since then it's all been one-night stands. None of them are really bad, but I do kind of need an outlet.

"But it's tradition, after all," he said, his voice husky. He trapped me, setting his hands on the counter on either side of me. He leaned his face in closer to mine, and I could smell his breath. I would bust him for stealing some of the tree candy-canes later.

Then he kissed me. And it was kind of like…magic, I would say, but then I would say cheesy. So lets just say it was just the most incredibly fantasmic kiss ever.

Which, it sort of was.

And then I was on the kitchen counter, legs wrapped around his waist, and he was pulling me off.

"Where are we going?" I gasped, out of breath.

"Our bedroom."

--

--

I woke up that morning semi-cold, even though I was bundled up and snuggled beside Sasuke. I smiled when I woke up and kissed him gently before sliding out. I pulled on some pajama pants and a T-shirt, and went to the bathroom.

The first thing I noticed about myself weren't the various hickey marks or love bites. The first thing I noticed was the sex hair.

And this is why I love him.

** (A/N: Can't really explain the ending, but I really wanted to end it. It's 3000 words for crying out loud. **

** And yeah. I just…yeah. I was really in the mood for this couple, so it just flowed. But was it as fun to read as it was to write?**

** I'm now on LJ. Yeah. I finally made a Livejournal. And the only reason I made it is for people — who **_**don't**_** read my profile updates that are there for a reason — to know why I don't update stories. Yeah. That and to rant about whatever crap I want. Feel free to check me out. I'm **_**mellieforyellie**_** and before you ask about the name, read the only post I have so far. It'll explain.**

**Next:**** NaruHina**

**After****: mystery**

** Feel free to request more. I won't bite.**

** Thanks for reading and please review!**

** — Midnight Essence)**


	11. Bad Romance

**(A/N: and I had a completely different thing for this, then I saw this picture. And, yeah.**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own this song nor Naruto.**

_I want your horror,_

_I want your design,_

'_Cause you're a criminal._

_As long as your mine,_

_I want your love._

_Bad Romance_ by Lady Gaga

They were _rebels_.

They stole, they fought. They _killed_.

Why?

Because they were _rebels._

"Naruto," Hinata said one day, in the lunchroom. She was checking her nails, done a slick black.

"Yes, Hinata?" he answered, stroking one of the legs that was placed atop his lap.

"I think Sakura has been hitting on you," she said distastefully, frowning.

Naruto smirked, eyeing the pinkette across the room (no one dared sit by _them_), talking to her boyfriend, that pretty boy _Sasuke_.

"Well, I think we should do something about that," he said slowly, dangerously. "Don't you?"

Hinata smiled, wickedly. "Oh, I do. I do."

The next morning, Sakura Haruno was admitted into the hospital of a gunshot wound. The only people who noticed Hinata walk into her room dare not speak of it.

Sakura was found dead that night.

--

--

"You're the ones that killed her!"

They smirked. Somebody _dared_ question them? How funny.

"Yes, we did," Hinata said. "And just _what_ are you going to do about it?"

"Tell the authorities!" Ino answered.

Hinata and Naruto smiled and chuckling, sharing a look. _Just like her friend. So naïve, so fearless_.

"If you do that," Naruto started.

"You _just_ may follow your little friend," Hinata ended, with a malicious smile.

Ino gaped, backing away. "Y—You're monsters!"

"We know."

That was the life of a Yankee.

**(A/N: and, uh, yeah. how'd that work out?**

**Next:**** whatever I feel like.  
****After:**** who knows?**

** sooo…I could take requests?**

** I also have a SasuNaru oneshot collection up…and a shikatema..and my D2D2D…I have a new style. –heart–**

** And I have a new name. Yay.**

_**xoxo,  
**__**Caught in Wonderland.**_**)**


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